Hawaya closed in 2023: marriage apps for Egypt and the Gulf now
By Mohanned Farahat, Founder · · Updated
IslamicKnot is our own service · Prices and features checked · How we review
Hawaya is closed. Its own site says the app was discontinued on 15 February 2023: accounts were closed, account data was deleted and subscriptions stopped that afternoon. If you were looking for it, here is what is left for a marriage search in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf — and which option keeps the family first.
What happened to Hawaya
Hawaya was an Arabic-first marriage app. Its closing FAQ says the company “decided to discontinue Hawaya in 2023 to be able to focus on other services”, that it was discontinued on February 15, 2023, and that “we intend to continue serving them within our other brands”. The home page now reads: “Hawaya is closed now and not accepting new registrations.”
Its terms name the operator as Hawaya, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with legal notices sent care of Match Group Legal.
If you once paid for Hawaya: the FAQ says subscriptions were stopped on 15 February 2023, and advises checking that auto-renewal is switched off — under Subscriptions in your Apple ID settings, or Payments & subscriptions in Google Play.
What is left in the region
Muzz. A global, chat-first marriage app: you match, then chat privately, free, with a paid Gold tier. Its wali option is a Chaperone mode that emails a wali weekly transcripts of the chats. Its global pool suits expats searching across nationalities. We cover it in our Muzz app review and in is Muzz halal?
Salams. The other big chat-first app, with paid Gold and Diamond tiers. It describes itself as part of the Match Group family — the group that ran Hawaya — and documents no wali or chaperone feature on its own pages. Our Salams review has the detail.
Arabic marriage sites. The best known, مودة (Mawada), calls itself a free Islamic marriage site (موقع زواج اسلامي مجاني), runs in Arabic, English and French, and has a premium membership. Its home page lists member profiles publicly. Open sites give reach; the vetting is yours to do. Our Arabic guide to choosing a serious Islamic marriage site sets out what to check.
IslamicKnot. Wali-first, with no private chat (below). It has an Arabic home page and a page for guardians in Arabic.
The family-first gap
In Egypt and the Gulf, marriage still runs through the family — the خِطبة (khitbah), the fathers meeting, the family visit. Yet the chat apps assume private chat between two individuals as the starting point, with the family arriving later, if at all.
IslamicKnot starts where the culture starts. There is no private chat: a man browses reviewed profiles anonymously — photos blurred until contact — and when a profile fits, the contact he unlocks is the woman’s wali. The first conversation is with her father or brother, exactly where tradition puts it. Browsing is free; reaching a family is a paid step that keeps idle attention away. And revert sisters without a wali are introduced in a conversation our team supervises, never one-to-one.
At a glance
| Feature | Muzz | Salams | IslamicKnot (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Chat app: match, then private chat1 | Chat app: match, then private chat2 | Wali-first site, no private chat3 |
| Private chat | Yes, after a mutual match; 5 active chats at a time on the free tier4 | Yes, after a mutual match2 | None. A seeker unlocks the wali's number; a revert sister is introduced in a conversation with our team present3 |
| Wali or chaperone | Optional Chaperone mode: a wali is emailed weekly transcripts of all chats5 | None on its own pages6 | Every enquiry goes to her wali (father or brother); supervised introductions for revert sisters7 |
| Photos | Women can blur or hide photos and reveal them per match; men cannot blur8 | Hide your profile (free) or use Stealth Mode (paid); screenshot stopper; no photo blur on its pages9 | Blurred for everyone; a clear photo is shared only by her family, after contact10 |
| Price | Gold $9.99–$41.99 on the US App Store, weekly to annual plans11 | $4.99–$34.99 in-app purchases on the US App Store (Gold $19.99–$34.99)12 | US$5 per family contact, or US$12 for 3 and US$15 for 5, paid once.13 |
- muzz.com/us/en/help/getting-started/how-much-does-muzz-cost
- salams-app.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/33997494786459-How-to-Send-a-Message
- islamicknot.com/how-it-works
- muzz.com/us/en/help/muzz-101/why-do-i-have-a-limit-on-chats
- muzz.com/us/en/help/muzz-101/how-do-i-include-a-chaperone-on-muzz
- salams-app.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
- islamicknot.com/guardians
- muzz.com/us/en/help/profile/why-are-some-profile-photos-and-videos-hidden-on-muzz
- salams-app.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/33995937272731-Hiding-Profile
- islamicknot.com/for-sisters
- apps.apple.com/us/app/muzz-where-muslims-marry/id969997496
- apps.apple.com/us/app/salams-halal-muslim-marriage/id965359176
- islamicknot.com/pricing
Checked against each platform's own pages and store listings, on the date at the top of this page. Plans and prices change; the platform's own page is the final word.
How to choose
If you want the biggest multinational pool and are comfortable with in-app chat, Muzz. If you want a second chat-app pool, Salams. If you want free reach in Arabic and will vet hard yourself, the Mawada-style sites. And if you want the search to run the way your family expects it to — through the wali, from the very first contact — that is what IslamicKnot was built for. Browse profiles, or see every option side by side in Muslim marriage apps compared.
Checked against hawaya.com, its FAQ and terms; mawada.net; and the Muzz and Salams pages cited in the table.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hawaya still working?
No. Hawaya's own site says it was discontinued on 15 February 2023: from 15:00 CET that day, accounts were closed, account data was deleted and subscriptions stopped. Its home page now says it is 'closed now and not accepting new registrations'.
Who ran Hawaya?
Hawaya's terms name Hawaya, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with legal notices sent care of Match Group Legal. Its closing FAQ says the company intends to keep serving Muslim singles 'within our other brands'. Salams, another Muslim marriage app, describes itself as part of the Match Group family.
What can I use instead of Hawaya?
It depends on the model you want. Muzz and Salams are the big chat-first apps: you match, then chat privately. Arabic sites such as Mawada describe themselves as free marriage sites. IslamicKnot is wali-first, with no private chat: the only contact a man can unlock is her wali’s number.
Is there a marriage app where the family is involved from the start?
Yes — IslamicKnot is built that way. There is no private chat: a man who finds a fitting profile unlocks contact with the woman's wali, and the families take it from there. That maps closely to how marriage is sought in Egypt and the Gulf, where the khitbah is led by families.